Victor Marijnen

His Excellency Victor Marijnen
Marijnen in 1963
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965
Monarch	Juliana
Deputy	Barend Biesheuvel
Preceded by	Jan de Quay
Succeeded by	Jo Cals
Mayor of The Hague
In office 16 October 1968 – 5 April 1975
Preceded by	Hans Kolfschoten
Succeeded by	Gerard Wallis de Vries (ad interim)
Chairman of the Rijnmond Council
In office 20 May 1965 – 16 October 1968
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Willem Fibbe
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 27 April 1965 – 14 January 1966
In office 2 July 1963 – 24 July 1963
Minister of Social Affairs and Health
In office 3 July 1961 – 17 July 1961 Ad interim
Prime Minister	Jan de Quay
Preceded by	Charles van Rooy
Succeeded by	Gerard Veldkamp
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
In office 19 May 1959 – 24 July 1963
Prime Minister	Jan de Quay
Preceded by	Kees Staf as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies
Succeeded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Member of the Social and Economic Council
In office 1 November 1957 – 19 May 1959
Chairman	Frans de Vries (1957–1958) Gerard Verrijn Stuart (1958–1959)
Personal details
Born	Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen (1917-02-21)21 February 1917 Arnhem, Netherlands
Died	5 April 1975(1975-04-05) (aged 58) The Hague, Netherlands
Cause of death	Heart attack
Political party	Catholic People's Party (from 1945)
Other political affiliations	Roman Catholic State Party (until 1945)
Spouse	Mini Schreurs ​ (m. 1944)​
Children	4 sons and 2 daughters
Alma mater	Radboud University Nijmegen (LL.B., LL.M.) Rotterdam School of Economics (BEc)
Occupation	Politician · Civil servant · Jurist · Economist · Trade association executive · Nonprofit director

Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen (21 February 1917 – 5 April 1975) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 24 July 1963 until 14 April 1965.^[1]

Marijnen studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Master of Laws degree followed by a postgraduate education in Agricultural economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics degree. Marijnen worked as a civil servant for the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Agriculture and Fisheries from August 1941 until November 1957 and as a trade association executive for the Christian Farmers and Gardeners association (CBTB) February 1949 until April 1951 and for the Catholic Employers association (AKWV) from November 1957 until May 1959. After the 1959 general election Marijnen was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in the De Quay cabinet, taking office on 19 May 1959. After the 1963 general election, Marijnen was asked to lead a new cabinet and following a successful cabinet formation formed the Marijnen cabinet and became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, taking office on 24 July 1963.

The cabinet fell just 19 months into its term and he was not offered a post in the new cabinet. Marijnen left office upon the installation of the Cals cabinet on 14 April 1965 but returned as a member of the House of Representatives, serving as a backbencher from 27 April 1965 until his resignation on 14 January 1966. Marijnen also became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Marijnen continued to be active in politics and in September 1968 was nominated as the Mayor of The Hague, taking office on 16 October 1968. On 5 April 1975 Marijnen died after suffering a fatal heart attack at his home at the age of just 58.

Marijnen was known for his abilities as a skilful manager and effective consensus builder. During his premiership, his cabinet was responsible for several major reforms to health insurance, the public broadcasting system and dealing with the fallout of the marriage between Princess Irene and carlist Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma. He holds the distinction as the last Prime Minister to have served as Mayor and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been below average.^[2][3][4]